Back in the spring, the San Francisco 49ers found themselves in a contractual negotiation period for the ages with none other than star wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Coming off of one of the most individually-prolific seasons in recent NFL history, with 1,770 yards from scrimmage amassed on 136 total touches, things were shaping up for Samuel to get paid in a very big way, but by whom? Would the 49ers put forward a deal worth enough to keep Samuel happy, or would the former second-round pick force his way out of town because his camp and John Lynch couldn’t come to an agreeable number?
For a time, this was a very pressing question and a topic of debate among fans, but based on the reactions of Samuel himself, it seemed like anything but a contentious situation, as he looked pretty excited about even the initial offer from the 49ers, based on his appearance in Part 2 of a documentary for Overtime.
“Sh*t,” Samuel told his agent when he saw the initial contract offer. “I’ve never seen those kind of numbers in my life, especially with my name right beside it.” “When I first saw it, I was like ‘oh, alright, this is what it’s going to be.'”
While Samuel’s agent, Tory Dandy, did present a counteroffer, eventually settling on the $73.5 million contract extension with $58.1 million guaranteed, it sure doesn’t sound like things got as heated as some initially suggested.
Deebo Samuel’s initial thoughts on the #49ers contract offer and some insight into his agent, Tory Dandy’s, negotiation strategy
Deebo Samuel Wanted More Time To Practice With Trey Lance
Later in the same segment, Dandy actually mentioned that the offer presented by Lynch and company was higher than he expected, with Samuel giving his opinion on why the deal might have come in at a relatively agreeable level.
“I think they came out like that because of the short period of time we got,” Samuel said. “You know, practice starts here in about 13 days.”
“I spent a lot of time with Trey this past summer, I kind of wanted it done then, but you know what I’m saying, everything doesn’t work out well in your favor. We’re still working, you know what I’m saying? We’re still gonna make a push.”
Call it revisionist history, as the documentary is clearly coming out many months after the initial deal was already done, but it sounds like Samuel’s heart was firmly in San Francisco.
Kyle Shanahan Expects San Francisco 49ers Reinforcements Post-Bye
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday before the teams cleared out of Santa Clara for the Bye, Kyle Shanahan mentioned that he expects more than a few of his players to return for the game against the Los Angeles Chargers, as transcribed by Niners Nation.
“We’re pretty optimistic to get a number of guys back,” Shanahan said. “It’s kind of tough because all those guys stay here this whole week and rehab, so that’s why I didn’t want to really give an update on each one. We are hoping that most of them will come back and we feel pretty good about that, but they have to have a good week here rehabbing and we’ll find out here when we get back on Monday.”
Will Samuel be one of those players? Only time will tell, but according to David Lombardi of The Athletic, things are pointing in that direction.
“The fact that he even had a chance to go (last week) means that he’ll hopefully be good with the week off for the next game,” Shanahan said on Friday, October 28th.
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Deebo Samuel Sheds Light On His Contract Negotiations With 49ers